Though the terms of the lawsuit settlement between Marvel and the Jack Kirby estate are under wraps, one thing is clear this week – King Kirby is getting the credit he deserves.
When you pick up All-New X-Men #33, Fantastic Four #12, Inhuman #7 andWolverine and the X-Men #11 you may have already seen a change to the credits page.
Interestingly, in addition to crediting Jack Kirby, Stan Lee is also listed where he wasn’t before. In the suit, the Kirby estate claims Jack created 45 characters for the company. Though Marvel has not stated what other titles Jack’s credit will appear in, if the settlement is all inclusive, look for Mr. Kirby’s name to appear more frequently in comics.
As far as monetary settlement goes, that is still being kept under wraps, though Bleeding Cool claims an insider close to the settlement has the Kirby children getting a mid eight figure chunk of change.
Keep your eyes close to the credits over the next couple of months and let us know where else you see Jack Kirby’s name.
3 Comments
Hell to the YEAH
About freaking time! Imagine if Bantam Books had refused to put Louis Lamour’s name on the cover of his westerns! Or if Isaac Azimov’s publisher had insisted that since they had paid him for his stories, all his books were “work for hire” and he had no rights to the things he had written? Or if the owner of the globe theater had insisted that since Shakespeare’s works had first appeared on his stage, before being published, he, and not Willie Boy, was the true ownerof the Bard’s works? It’s only in comic books where this sort of nonsense was allowed to persist! Although this began to change – a little – with the rise of independent comic book publishers back in the early 80s, it’s pathetic that it’s taken Marvel and DC another thirty years – and multi-million dollar lawsuits – to begin to address their iniquities. Thank goodness that Stan Lee, at least, is still alive to see it.
You know, looking at that image – it would have been hilarious if they had left the picture over “The invisible woman” blank….